Conditions ideal for bug boom in valley

Monday, June 13, 2005 | 11:03 a.m.

Those who know of abandoned pools or other stagnant water sources are asked to call and report it to Clark County Vector Control at (702) 455-7543.

Having had a relatively mild and wet winter might wind up bugging many Las Vegans this summer.

Flies, moths, beetles, ants, spiders and a whole host of other creepy, crawling and flying pests often add to the misery of the blistering triple-digit summer desert heat.

Significant winter rains and warmer temperatures have spurred the growth of weeds where insects thrive, which has brought out bugs in droves this spring, experts say.

That has caused local insect control officials to focus on mosquitos and their larva in washes and in the stagnant water of abandoned pools because they can carry one of three viruses that can make people seriously ill and, in some cases, cause death.

"Although other factors are involved, insects generally do better when their is more moisture and higher humidity because it increases vegetation," said Richard Hicks, longtime chief of Clark County Vector Control. "The mild winter could mean a higher survival rate for the adult population and its eggs. "Because of the potential health hazard, we are focusing our efforts on mosquitos. We are especially looking for potential breeding grounds like abandoned pools with stagnant water."

Clark County Vector Control traps and tests mosquitos for three viruses -- West Nile virus, which showed up for the first time last year; Western Equine Encephalitis; and St. Louis Encephalitis.

Neither of the two types of encephalitis have shown up in Clark County in years, though mosquitos tested in Fallon recently were found to be positive for the St. Louis variety, according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Hicks said so far this year, no mosquitos collected in Clark County have tested positive for any of the three viruses and no local cases of West Nile virus have turned up in humans this year.

Last year, there were 20 confirmed cases of West Nile virus locally, but no deaths. The illness from a mosquito bite can cause flu-like symptoms.

Studying those cases, however, did not give vector control a clear picture of the origin of the disease-carrying mosquitos.

"It is still a little unclear because a number of the people do not remember being bitten and several others went camping outside of Clark County and may have been bitten far from here," Hicks said. "However, in some of the cases, there was stagnant water in drained pools near where they lived."

Hicks said another encouraging sign is that the mosquito population is down locally based on the numbers trapped. For example, he said, just 56 mosquitos were caught in May at Lower Duck Creek near Sam Boyd Stadium, a major local breeding ground where in the past several hundred were caught in a month.

Given the changing nature in the battle against bugs, where vector control now must concentrate on controlling potentially deadly disease-carrying creatures, the agency is slated to be transferred next month from under the auspices of the Public Works Department to the Clark County Health District, Hicks said.

Whether it is the potential risk of getting a serious illness from a mosquito or a toxic spider bite or just cringing while watching a cockroach scurry across a kitchen floor, people generally do not like or tolerate bugs.

And the apparent significant increase in their populations this year have kept local pest control companies bustling in recent weeks.

"It has absolutely been busy," said Scott Freeman, owner of Freeman Pest Control, and a 14-year veteran of the pest extermination business.

"This is always indicative of what happens when you have a wet winter -- a lot of calls about ants and cockroaches and high bee activity. These bees are pollinating everywhere."

And some valley residents are seeing pests that they have not been seen in years.

"Every year it gets busier because cities are getting larger and we are putting in more pools and other water features that encourage the insect population to grow," Freeman said. "When it comes to increasing the problem with bugs we (man) sometimes are the cause."

Jeff Knight, the state entomologist with Nevada Department of Agriculture, echoes that sentiment.

"We create microclimates -- water fixtures, pools, lots of grass," he said. "We are the ones creating the problem by also moving things around (importing trees and shrubs) and not making sure they are pest free.

"It's tough because we do not have enough people to watch what is coming in to the state. Things move around in days that used to take months. A grasshopper on a Fed-Ex plane comes from Florida to Nevada overnight."

In addition to the indigenous pests that cause problems, Knight said there "is a very long list" of imported creatures the state is watching by inspecting nursery stock and surveying 500 to 700 sites in the Las Vegas area.

Among the most troubling outside pests has been the emerald ash borer that kills ash trees. And there are new threats, specifically the cactus moth from Florida that attacks the pad-type of cactus, Knight said.

"If we have more winters like the last one we could change the microclimate enough where imported things will survive where they would not have survived," Knight said.

One problem Southern Nevada does not have, Knight said, is the Mormon cricket, which goes only as far south as Caliente because it cannot adapt to the Las Vegas climate.

However, this year alone, it will cost Nevada $1.5 million in federal funds to combat the Mormon cricket primarily in Northern Nevada, Knight said.

No matter how good a job Hicks, Knight, Freeman and others do, fighting the bug population is and always will be a losing battle if the ultimate goal is an insect-free world.

"We are dealing with Mother Nature," Freeman said. "You can only stay on top of the problem. That's why we call it pest control, not pest elimination."